1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to electrical connector assemblies, and, more particularly, to an angled electrical connector assembly that is selectively adjustable, yet capable of supporting, in a selected orientation, an electrical circuit element such as an antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical connectors are essential components in electrical and electronic circuits acting as interfaces between major modules, equipment or circuits, that is, they provide for the input and output of electrical signals throughout a circuit or in interconnecting various modular pieces of equipment.
One major use of electrical connectors, is in connecting non-permanent circuit elements, such as transmission lines or antenna elements, to the circuit so as to provide an electrical path for electrical signals.
Since the electrical connector assembly is often a separate, external piece that is added to the equipment or circuit to permit the connection of an external, removable element, its overall configuration is important not only from the electrical standpoint, but from the standpoint of providing the most spatially effective shape possible for the particular situation. As a result of the many different kinds of situations in which electrical connectors are found, a number of differing configurations have become standard. Chief among these standard configurations are the straight-through or in-line connector, and the elbow or angled connector. Many times these two configurations are used in conjunction with one another to provide configurations not available as a single connector unit, for example, a U-shaped connector composed of two elbow connectors.
While combinations of various available connector configurations may provide for a large number of situations, such groupings are expensive, large, bulky, and many times fail to provide for non-standard configurations, which, at times, appear to be the norm in real installations.